Hylian Myths
by Nathaniel Shepard
Summary: A collection of myths and short stories gathered from Hyrule's past.


**The Lonely Boy**  
A Hylian Myth

There was a time long ago when the Golden Goddesses still walked amongst their people. After the creation of the world, each deity fashioned a race to serve and glorify their names.

Din created the Gorudo, the mountain tribe. They lived upon the slope of the great Mt. Via, where they thrived by mining the mountain for precious metals. Din dwelt among her people and they gave praise to her as she instructed them in the way of the hammer and the blacksmith.

Farore created the Dekiri, the forest tribe. They lived within the depths of the Fairy Woods, living off of the land and profiting off of its bounty. Farore dwelt among her people and they gave praise to her as she instructed them in the way of the bow and the woodsman.

Naryu created the Hylians, the plains tribe. They built villages and lived off of the fruits of the fields and the sea, as well as through trading with the other tribes. Naryu dwelt among her people and they gave praise to her as she instructed them in the ways of the farmer and the fisherman.

There was a boy who lived among the Hylians. His nets would not bring in fish, nor would his fields yield crop. "Who is this boy?" the Hylians would ask. "Who is this child who cannot hear what Naryu teaches?" Because the boy could not do these things, they cast him out. "Go and live with the Dekiri, in the Fairy Woods. Surely they will have use of you there."

So the boy left the villages of Hylia and joined the Dekiri in the Fairy Wood. He lived with them for some time. His arrow would not fall game nor would his axe level trees. "Who is this boy?" the Hylians would ask. "Who is this child who cannot hear what Farore teaches?" Because the boy could not do these things, they cast him out. "Go and live with the Gorudo, on the mountain slopes. Surely they will have use of you there."

So the boy left the Fairy Woods and joined the Gorudo on Mt. Via. He lived with them for some time. His hammer would forge no steal, nor would his pick break stone. "Who is this boy?" the Gorudo would ask. "Who is this child who cannot hear what Din teaches?" Because the boy could not do these things, they cast him out. "The Hylians and the Dekiri before us have passed you by. Truly, you are a useless boy."

So the boy left the slopes of Mt. Via and began to wander the land. "The Goddesses have rejected me!" he would cry. He truly was alone, a boy without friends. Now this boy was a clever boy, cleverer than most would dare to imagine. That very night, he hatched a scheme. "The people adore the Goddesses for the skills they preach, so I shall make their power my own!"

The boy climbed to the top of Mt. Via, where sat Din, the Goddess of Power, Fire, and the Earth.

"Great Goddess of Power, it is said that your strength is beyond compare," began the boy, "but I have heard talk from some of the Gorudo that not even you have the strength to hoist this mountain on your back and carry it across the land!"

Din rose up in a prideful fury. "Who speaks as this, doubting the strength I possess? I shall lift this mountain upon my shoulders and carry it far into the east!" So the Goddess placed the mountain on her shoulders and began her march.

Within the mountain, the blood of the earth began to seep into the caverns, magma bubbling as Din's ire fueled it. Where the Goddess stepped, the land was scorched, leaving a desert in her wake. She reached the edge of the Hylian Plains and stopped, before setting the mountain down on the eastern side of the grasslands.

"Let none doubt my strength again!" came the voice of Din.

"Oh, surely none are as strong as you, Goddess, but what of your people? The men of the Gorudo are within the mountain yet, and the bubbling blood of the earth threatens to burn them whole! The hot sun beats down upon their wives, waiting in a land turned wasteland for their husbands to return to them!"

Din was shocked to see what she had done. She entered the mountain and hardened the skin of the men until it was as rock, so that they might withstand the scorching heat of the magma. She entered the desert and darkened the skin of the wives so that they might endure the sun, raising great cliffs to provide shade.

When the men came out of the mountain and returned to their homes in the desert, their wives screamed in fear at the hardened skins of their husbands. "What curse has Din laid upon us?" they cried. "What provoked her to remove from us our mountain and our men?" They cried this for the mere sight of their husbands caused them to recoil in horror at their grotesque appearances. "We shall have no more of men!" they cried, driving the men from the desert. They settled in the cliffs and named themselves the Gerudo, turning their backs on the Goddess.

The men cried out from the mountain sides. "What curse has Din laid upon us? What provoked her to remove from us our wives and our homes?" Their anger fueled their strength, as they tore into the mountain, carving out caves and vast hollows. So great was their fury that the mountain top exploded in a rain of magma and rock. They settled in these caves and named themselves the Goron, turning their backs on the Goddess.

Seeing her people reject her, Din fell into despair. In the depths of her grief, the boy came to her and stole her power away, claiming it for himself. "Now none are as strong as I!" he proclaimed.

The boy then left the mountain and entered into the Fairy Wood. He climbed to the top of the tallest tree in the forest, where sat Farore, Goddess of Courage, Wind, and Nature.

"Great Goddess of Courage, it is said that when you play your flute, the world dances. Yet there are those among the Dekiri who say that not even your music would give the trees reason to lift up their roots and join in the reel."

"Is that so?" asked the Goddess. "Then perhaps I should play a tune for them." She raised a flute to her lips and played a jig. The notes wafted through the forest and the trees stirred in their plots. The Goddess increased the pace and roots sprang from the ground as the trees rose to give motion to the lively tune. The Dekiri, who had made their homes in the trees, cried out in fear as they leapt from their homes and avoided being trampled by the reeling trees. They fled to a nearby clearing, where they believed themselves safe.

The Goddess noticed this and stopped playing, but the trees began to hum the tune themselves and continued to dance. The homes they housed in their limbs were torn to pieces as the trees swayed their many arms. In a panic, the Goddess led the trees deeper into the forest, where she bound them. The trees were dubbed Deku, and the area was named the Lost Woods as the continuous dancing of the trees made it impossible to navigate. To this day, you can still here the trees singing the song.

The Dekiri cried out, "What curse has Farore laid upon us? What provoked her to destroy our homes and possess our woods?"

The Goddess heard these words and was angered. "I did my best to save you from my folly and this is how you respect me? You call yourselves cursed, so cursed you shall be! You whine as a child whines for a lost toy, so children you shall remain for eternity!" And so the Goddess laid the curse of youth upon them, allowing them to never grow old and yet die young, with life unfulfilled. To guard over these children, she appointed a guardian spirit to the tree upon which she sat. The Dekiri, in their spite, took the name Kokiri and turned their backs on the Goddess.

Seeing her people reject her, Farore fell into despair. In the depths of her grief, the boy came to her and stole her power away, claiming it for himself. "Now none are as cunning as I!" he proclaimed.

The boy then left the wood and journeyed to the great lake of Hylia, where resided Naryu, Goddess of Wisdom, Love, and the Sea.

"Oh Goddess of Wisdom, your knowledge knows no bounds and your word is respected by all. Yet I have heard some talk among the Hylians that not even your words could tame the seas. Surely if you proved them wrong, they would be grateful to you for easing their lives!"

Naryu smiled, for she had seen through the boy's scheme and had prepared for this. She stood and raised her hands above the waters. "Be still," she called out, and the waters became flat and level, with only wind ripples disturbing the surface.

The Hylians marveled at this and exclaimed to one another, "Look! The seas have been made calm! No longer must we pray for our safety as we cross the waters in search of fish to eat and goods to sell!" The Hylians began to lose faith, but Naryu fell not into despair.

As the boats set sail, monstrous creatures stirred within the deep. One ship was swallowed whole by a giant fish, one splintered by tentacles of water, still another crushed by a giant eel. The sailors prayed to the Goddess to protect them from these leviathans. Naryu, hearing these prayers, created a race to govern and control these creatures and named this race the Zora.

Naryu then spoke to the Hylians, "Because you did not turn from me in your time of need, you will be blessed among nations. Your power will grow to encompass the others and you shall rule over them with wisdom and justice."

Naryu then spoke to the Gerudo, "Because you were the first to turn away from us in your time of need, despite what we had provided for you, you will be cursed among nations. For a thousand generations you and your people will remain confined to the desert. Because you have forsaken men, so shall men forsake you. Only once in a hundred years may one of your wombs bear a male, and he shall govern you with fear and cruelty until his death."

Naryu then spoke to the boy. "Child, why have you caused these terrible things?" she asked.

The boy stood and spoke back angrily, "Your people reject me for I cannot learn what you teach! If I could gain the powers and skills that the Goddess posses, then they would be sure to accept me!" The boy fell into despair as he realized he would not be able to obtain Naryu's power.

The Goddess of Wisdom came upon the boy and, in his despair, took the power which he had stolen and returned them to her sisters. She then spoke again to the boy. "You truly are a lonely and miserable boy, but you have done many terrible things and punishment comes to all. You know of power and courage, but you will never receive from us the gift of wisdom. To you we give the curse of immortality, to live forever and watch all about you wither and die. However, so as you will not bring harm to our land and our peoples once more, we shall imprison you."

The Goddesses rose into the air in a triangle pattern and surrounded the boy, gesturing towards him. In a spectacular flash of light, the boy disappeared and in his place was a mask. The mask was heart shaped, with two large yellow eyes peering out above purple lines of darkness, spikes glistening on the edges.

"Your old name is no more," spoke Din.

"We give you a new one here and now," spoke Farore

"You are Majora, meaning trickster," spoke Naryu

"But Majora has another meaning," came the voice of all three. "It also means 'One who is alone,' for no matter where you search or how far you travel, you will never find friendship or love."

Din spoke to the others, "My sisters, we cannot allow this evil to remain in our world, for his hatred and despair will surely leak out and corrupt the land!"

Farore sang out in agreement, "Then we shall make a new world to serve as his prison, so that ours is not tainted by his malice."

"Do what you will," Naryu said, "but know that I will not lend my wisdom to such a world. Let him craft the order as he sees fit."

So Din, with her strong flaming arms cultivated the land and created the red earth. Farore, with her rich soul, created all life forms that would tend the earth. After all of this, Naryu approached and said, "I give but one Law for this world. Should all life within it be one day extinguished, the prison will collapse and the spirit within set free."

"Why do you do this, sister?" asked Din. "Why do you allow this window for one who has wronged us so greatly?"

"Because," Naryu replied, "I pity him."

The End


End file.
